Miyajima Labs 1.0 mil Infinity Mono

[Mike Lavigne]

Option for the second arm would be a viv labs. Can sit on the plinth or some pillar to the back left.

that option briefly flashed across my mind. but the 180+ pound Saskia slate plinth covers almost the whole shelf surface. i'm sure there are engineering solutions i might have considered, but getting a great deal on the EMT/Kairos seemed the better play. i'm happy.

the Viv Labs does look like a real world solution to consider should i need arm #6.....and the real estate for it works out (might not).

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike,

I wonder if I can ask you a couple questions? have you compared the Miyajima to any of the other new(ish) mono carts that are coming out? You’re really making me curious about the Infinity, but I’ve also wondered about the Ortofon mono-A. The really high end Grado that Fremer reviewed is also interesting, but it’s a lot more expensive.

It seems that most people are using their mono set-ups to listen to ear;y jazz and classical recordings - with good reason! I love that music but I’m also a huge Beatles fan and have some of their 1st pressing mono’s. I also own the newer mono box set. I’m thinking you might also have some of these records. So, I wonder if you have any thoughts on any of the Beatles stuff - or other R&R mono recordings? Do they also sound a lot better with a mono cartridge?

Thanks - I sure do appreciate reading your thoughts on all of this.

i was leaning heavily toward the Ortofon mono A, and had not seriously considered any others besides the Infinity. i read Fremer's mono A review and was impressed. but then i heard and read more about the Infinity and the feedback was pretty strong. everyone who heard it was over the moon. i had owned my Miyajima Premium Be 1.0 mil for 6 years and it was a great giant killer cartridge for $1150. i've owned 2 Ortofon A90's, 2 MC Anna's, and an Anna Diamond. the more i thought about it, i just felt that adding it all up the odds were that the Infinity would be better. as much a gut call as anything.

i've heard nothing that would cause me to second guess it. maybe Fremer will have one to comment on soon (i have no inside knowledge about it). you are welcome to visit and listen to both compared to my Etsuro Golds.

 

[defride]

before i answer i want to be clear that this hassle is worth it.

Miyajima has a different mounting approach than any other cartridge i have used. on the three Miyajima's i've owned they use a long screw with a philips head (from the top) all the way through the body of the cartridge with a small nut on the bottom for tightening. i can understand the benefit of this design; you eliminate the issues (and expense) of tapping some part of the cartridge body to accept a screw thread. and assuming you can access the nut properly, you can tighten it effectively.

there is a fundamental 'gotcha' to this process. since the stylus is on the bottom of the cartridge, and the cartridge protector case covers the screw holes where the nuts should be tightened, you are doing a high wire act trying to tighten these nuts without harming the stylus since the guard cannot be attached.

On the Infinity, this is further complicated by the fact that the surface of the bottom of the cartridge has recesses for those nuts. and these recesses makes it near impossible to get any sort of wrench or pliers on it. so you end up trying to grab it with your fingers, or (as Robin suggested as he laughed his evil laugh) you hold a small flat head screwdriver wedged into the space to leverage against by holding it up close to your body, then try to get the philips head screwdriver onto the top screw head, all the while not harming the stylus. this is exactly when i had violent thoughts about Mr. Miyayima.......is he nuts? Robin's other thought was to use a compression nut that digs into the wood.

as the coup de' gras with my Telos and Kairos with composite arm wands, the cartridge mounting shank is too thick for the provided screws to work. there is a really long one that sticks out below about 1/3rd of an inch, below the level of the stylus. how do i source exactly the right length of these tiny screws to make sure they are the perfect length considering the consequences?

the Infinity 1.0 mil is mounted on my Durand Telos with a wood arm wand that uses a metal cartridge plate and the screws provided are the right length. so i was able to eventually get it mounted and tightened. the first time i played it it came loose. i had not tightened it enough. but now that seems to be ok. after much more drama than i've ever had before mounting a cartridge.

with the Infinity 0.7 mil i was stuck; then i realized i could use the screws from below and have them stick up above the top of the cartridge and have the nuts on the top. but again; i could not access the recesses in my headshell with any sort of socket or pliers to tighten it. and then how can i make fine adjustments to the set-up with a nut on top?

my solution was that i have a set of 50 Wiha small tools that just happen to include a deep socket 4mm driver. this tool seems to be the savior of the situation. as it can fit into the recesses to tighten the nut. and so far i'm ok. it does not look like i can use that driver to tighten up the nuts for my other Infinity 1.0 mil as there does not appear to be enough space, but i've not yet tried that. if that does work then absolutely that tool is essential to own an Infinity.

https://www.wihatools.com/precision-esd-safe-nut-driver-4-0mm

we still have to use the philips head on the bottom of the cartridge without the stylus guard to mount the cartridge while holding the 4mm socket with the other hand. but it can work.

and it's not ideal making small alignment adjustments with the nuts on top instead of the philips screw head. i had to turn the arm wand over a couple of times to loosen and move the cartridge to get it right. but a little hassle with that by that point was no big deal. how often will i touch it?

Looks like these would be handy, made set up of my last cart that required nuts a cinch. Could probably have a machine shop adapt a regular nut. Mine came with a cart, I've never looked for them so don't know if they're widely available

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Looks like these would be handy, made set up of my last cart that required nuts a cinch. Could probably have a machine shop adapt a regular nut. Mine came with a cart, I've never looked for them so don't know if they're widely available

View attachment 69049

thank you. agree, that might work perfectly. it would have to be very small. but there may not be depth on the bottom side to allow for the length of the screw to allow for that compression washer + the nut. it would be close to touching the record surface. what's needed is a threaded insert to replace the loose nut. or a case for the nut to fit into that is the shape of the nut so it holds it.

i'm out of my depth rationalizing what can't work. i need to stay in my lane.

 

[Ovenmitt]

i was leaning heavily toward the Ortofon mono A, and had not seriously considered any others besides the Infinity. i read Fremer's mono A review and was impressed. but then i heard and read more about the Infinity and the feedback was pretty strong. everyone who heard it was over the moon. i had owned my Miyajima Premium Be 1.0 mil for 6 years and it was a great giant killer cartridge for $1150. i've owned 2 Ortofon A90's, 2 MC Anna's, and an Anna Diamond. the more i thought about it, i just felt that adding it all up the odds were that the Infinity would be better. as much a gut call as anything.

i've heard nothing that would cause me to second guess it. maybe Fremer will have one to comment on soon (i have no inside knowledge about it). you are welcome to visit and listen to both compared to my Etsuro Golds.

Hi Mike,

I would very much like to come visit you and hear some music at you place some day - I’ll bring the libations! And back at you.... if you’re ever in the austin area, you are always welcome to stop by my place too.

From what I have read in some of the other Ortofon’s it sounds like they can be a little bright/analytical sometimes (although I my SPU’s are not bright at all)... in the end, it’s all reading and not listening. Based on what you’re hearing the Miyajima is the way to go!

 

[defride]

thank you. agree, that might work perfectly. it would have to be very small. but there may not be depth on the bottom side to allow for the length of the screw to allow for that compression washer + the nut. it would be close to touching the record surface. what's needed is a threaded insert to replace the loose nut. or a case for the nut to fit into that is the shape of the nut so it holds it.

i'm out of my depth rationalizing what can't work. i need to stay in my lane.

It's not a washer, it is the threaded nut. Rather than using some sort of spanner or wedge you use a jewellers flathead to stop the nut turning as you tighten. Much easier than a standard nut

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Friday night my print copy of Absolute Sound (October 2020-Issue 309) arrived, i paged through it casually and nothing really caught my eye. then last night i picked it up again and more carefully looking, noticed a short review from Jacob Heilbrunn on the Miyajima Infinity mono 0..7 mil. cartridge.

i think it's another useful data point on the Infinity for any fence sitters. Jacob likes it a lot, i will leave the details for you to discover. (i can shoot review copies and email pics for those who need that......can't post it.....no link yet i could find). interestingly he does mount it on his Graham Elite/AF Zero after it was on his Caliburn first. so lots of 6 figure analog to see what a $3350 cartridge can do.......and it fully pulls it off. i even understood most of the words Jacob used without a dictionary......which is not always the case.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Monday my new Adona GXT rack (my 4th ) arrived for the EMT 948/Kairos/Infinity mono 0.7 mil. i was able to assemble the rack and get the 948, arm and cartridge going Monday night. part of adding a 4th rack was re-configuring gear; especially difficult for my 69 year old body was moving the 90+ pound Extreme server and the 100 pound Tripoint Elite which had been sitting behind my 3rd rack. imagine standing behind the rack and somehow lifting the Elite into the bottom shelf with zero room to squat or really get a grip on it. i've wanted to get the Elite onto a proper rack and now it's there. the last 2 nights i've slowly done the small detail issues to get everything organized that come with any move like this. i'm not quite all the way done, but far enough to stand back and enjoy what i'm seeing.

Monday night and last night i did listen to the Infinity 0.7 mil on some of my favorite stereo cut mono pressings, and i'm really impressed. best i've heard these......and some of these are the finest recordings i know of. as the EMT had been on a low table and i knew i was going to be moving it i had just done a quick set-up before. now it's much better, plus it's on a better rack and more solid. hopefully over the next few days i'll get all the way done with this change and then it's just music, music, music. no more gear thoughts at all.

my body is still recovering from the aches and pains of this move, but i'm really enjoying what i'm hearing.

 

[Chop]

Just my Miyajima two pennys worth...

I have about 500 mono records, buth jazz and classical with some blues.
I've had a Zero 0.7 for three years now, before the Infinity was available. I had an SPU CG25i for mono duties before: The SPU has a 1mm stylus and was great for my 1950's monos but I found it bright with several of my post mid 1960's stereo cut mono LP's. The Zero was a revelation. I didn't play a stereo record for weeks. Stereo Beatles records? Pah!

My findings exactly echo Mike's. Both 0.7 and 1.0 stylus profles are needed for optimum playback of mono LP's across eras. I haven't had a 1.0 Zero in my system but my gut feeling is that the Zero is significantly clearer than the CG25i. Some may translate this as the CG25i is more musical.
If I had to but one mono cartridge it would be a Miyajima every time, but if you have mostly 50's recordings and a more modest budget the SPU is a more cost effective option and if yo'd never heard the Zero you may never miss it!

 

[montesquieu]

---1.0mil is superior on older wide groove pressings. only equal to the best (in my experience) stereo cartridge on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings.

Don't know how I missed this thread, all very interesting. I've been using Miyajima Monos (Kotetu, Spirit, Premium, Premium BE, Zero) for a decade now. I previously had the Zero 1.0 and 0.7mil, but replaced both not so long ago with MSL Eminent Zero. This has a 1.0 tip but was so surprisingly good on later narrow groove mono that I sold the Zero 0.7mil anyway as it was giving me no advantage.

I must admit I have been curious about getting an Infinity 0.7mil. With regard to any of the Ortofon mono cartridges, I've had them all at different times (from the Mono SPU Mk1 and Mk II to CG25) and they never quite come up to the standard of the Miyajimas.

 

[cuntigh]

Don’t want to troll this thread but as I don’t want to begin one, I just wanted to say that, after many hesitations with the Miyajima I bought the Tedeska monodose Model: DT101l.
I wanted a mono cart for some time and didn’t even know about Tedeska. The man behind Thoress talked about saying their mono carts there the bests he ever heard.
I had no experience until now with mono carts but after a few hours of listening I will paste here what Mike said about the Miyajima. I am ok with all he said but not able to say it better than him, so

: there is something quite magical that mono listening does for my peace of mind. it settles me.
maybe my mind is less taxed, or something. but 2 hours of mono listening puts me in a very good frame of mind. it's kind. i love it!!!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Don’t want to troll this thread but as I don’t want to begin one, I just wanted to say that, after many hesitations with the Miyajima I bought the Tedeska monodose Model: DT101l.
I wanted a mono cart for some time and didn’t even know about Tedeska. The man behind Thoress talked about saying their mono carts there the bests he ever heard.
I had no experience until now with mono carts but after a few hours of listening I will paste here what Mike said about the Miyajima. I am ok with all he said but not able to say it better than him, so

: there is something quite magical that mono listening does for my peace of mind. it settles me.
maybe my mind is less taxed, or something. but 2 hours of mono listening puts me in a very good frame of mind. it's kind. i love it!!!

it's all good. you are not trolling this thread. all mono discussion is positive, and letting mono dreamers know about other cartridge choices is only helpful. if you have not heard an Infinity, then.........you need to.....is all i would say. but maybe i need to hear the Tedeska too.

and a good idea to have lots of mono talk on one thread to keep the information going.

i'm doing mono this morning, with both my Infinity's. and it's awesome!!!

right now doing Art Blakey's "Orgy In Rhythm, Volume Two', a 1959 second pressing, deep groove on the Infinity 1.0 mil on Durand Telos and the NVS tt. even though it's got all this energy, it's just cooking along sending out happy vibes and feels right. my shoulders are relaxed.

Art Blakey - Orgy In Rhythm - Volume Two

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1959 Vinyl release of "Orgy In Rhythm - Volume Two" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

earlier i was playing an AP mono reissue of "Informal Jazz", with the Elmo Hope Sextet on the Infinity 0.7 mil mounted on the Durand Kairos on the NVS turntable. again; so relaxing and natural sounding. what the 0.7 mil Infinity does for modern mono pressings compared to even the ultimate stereo rigs is dumbfounding. it wakes up the sound to what god intended it to be.

mono is fun!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Mike, I only have a handful of mono LPs, and I love them, there's a kind of ball of energy feel to them, strangely more energetic than the stereo version, but more relaxed.
The vast majority of my late 60s LPs are stereo, and sometimes there's a real "fakeness" in how extreme the stereo panning is.
Early Jethro Tull albums come to mind, like "This Was" and "Stand Up". I'm assuming they were released in mono at the time, and I suspect they sounded more holistic and less hyped up.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike, I only have a handful of mono LPs, and I love them, there's a kind of ball of energy feel to them, strangely more energetic than the stereo version, but more relaxed.
The vast majority of my late 60s LPs are stereo, and sometimes there's a real "fakeness" in how extreme the stereo panning is.
Early Jethro Tull albums come to mind, like "This Was" and "Stand Up". I'm assuming they were released in mono at the time, and I suspect they sounded more holistic and less hyped up.

the equation for highest performance for 60's pressings is tricky. as mid-60's they were switching from wide-groove mono cutter heads to stereo cutter heads even for mono pressings. and i suspect that it is even changing somewhat more as mono cartridges improve and the performance delta increases.

7-8 years ago when i first got my Miyajima Premium Be i found that about 25% of mono pressings sounded better on my stereo cartridges. this was even including some early pressings. later one's tended to be more like 50-50 which would sound better. then you have the issues you bring up, where it's a mono mixed recording, re-mixed for stereo. lot's of those in the 60's. so you have lots of variables.

with my new Miyajima Infinity monos, the higher performance has shaken out the truth much more clearly on the mono pressings anyway. i've not yet found one mono pressing where any stereo cartridge can touch it.

Thursday night i had pulled out a couple of albums from the MoFi Sinatra box set and played them on the Saskia with the Etsuro Gold; one stereo and one mono. loved them both. the mono pressing, "In The Wee Small Hours", pressed in the early 80's by MoFi, was nice on the Etsuro Gold. but i wanted to see what the Infinity 0.7 mil on the EMT would do. so last night i played the first cut on the Saskia, then switched it. night and day in favor of the Infinity. not even close. Frank's voice came alive and the recording filled the room.

60's mono rock is a case where you need to find the earliest pressing and then try it both with a mono and stereo cartridge. honestly i've not done much of that. but i plan on going down that road soon.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Mike, one minor reason I settled on my Soundsmith Straingauge cart was a couple of reviews that stated it was one of the best stereo carts for playing mono LPs. And if my limited experience is right, I think those comments may be accurate.

No, I'm talking about playing late 60s stereo LPs where there is a hint of over panning/hyper separation of instruments. I'm sure those stereo versions were originally, or simultaneously, released as mono LPs at the time. And my guess is a less overstretched soundstage suits this music better. But it can only be a guess.

 

[cuntigh]

Thanks Mike,

If mono listening sessions become more and more frequent in my casa, I will have to chase around the Miyajima 0,7 for modern mono records. Once again I start from the beginning and have no point of comparison between one or another name (Miyajima, Tedeska or any other).
what I know now is that the mono experience is a no return and a big step in my audiophile journey.

 

[cuntigh]

Mike,
Do you use a special mono step-up for your mono carts and if yes please can you elaborate on it’s contribution vs a classic stereo step-up ?
JY

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike,
Do you use a special mono step-up for your mono carts and if yes please can you elaborate on it’s contribution vs a classic stereo step-up ?
JY

i do not have a dedicated mono step up. i'm already using both my MM inputs on my CS Port phono for my 2 EMIA stereo SUT's for my 2 Etsuro Gold stereo cartridges.

my (2) EMIA 1:10 Stereo SUT's will each work well with either of my Infinity mono's should i want to do it that way. and the cables will reach. right now i use one of my dart phono's for the 1.0 and the MC input on the CS Port for the 0.7.

Infinity 1.0 mil -> darTZeel phono with an active gain stage.
Infinity 0.7 mil -> CS Port MC input (63db of gain) which is an internal SUT.

i have no plans to buy another SUT mono only. but who knows if i heard one that knocked my socks off i'd probably have to do it. it would have to be very fine to surpass the EMIA silver's.

 

[montesquieu]

Mike, one minor reason I settled on my Soundsmith Straingauge cart was a couple of reviews that stated it was one of the best stereo carts for playing mono LPs. And if my limited experience is right, I think those comments may be accurate.

No, I'm talking about playing late 60s stereo LPs where there is a hint of over panning/hyper separation of instruments. I'm sure those stereo versions were originally, or simultaneously, released as mono LPs at the time. And my guess is a less overstretched soundstage suits this music better. But it can only be a guess.

I would certainly argue that for quite a lot of early releases, the mono mix sounds better than the stereo one ... this goes for all genres but is probably most apparent in jazz. I have quite a few early Blue Note releases in both stereo and mono - it really took RVG a while to get the hang of stereo, some of his early stereo mixes are pretty dire, but sound fabulous in mono.

Happy to demo what I mean when you finally make it round

 

[spiritofmusic]

Sure Tom, that's a comparison I'd love to hear. Roll on the vaccinations.